This is a list of a few cancer causing foods gathered from various sources by Natural On.While the list seems to cover just about everything in the diet of most people, there are alternative ways to eat well and still enjoy flavorful, healthy food without compromising health, depleting the soil or contributing to climate change.Microwave popcornMicrowave popcorn bags are lined with a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid ( PFOA), a toxin found in Teflon. According to a recent study at the University of California, PFOA is linked to infertility in women. Numerous studies in lab animals and humans show that exposure to PFOA significantly increases the risk of kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas and testicular cancers. Read studies at cancer.org.The popcorn itself uses a chemical called diacetyl in addition to GMO soybean oil. Use of this chemical caused Conagra Foods—one of the largest industrial food producers-- to remove it from their brand of popcorn, ACT, because it was causing lung diseases in the workers at their factory.SodaSodas contain artificial colorings and food chemicals like derivative 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), which has been shown to cause cancer. Sodas contain huge amounts of sugar causing weight gain and contribute to the nationwide epidemic of obesity. Drinking large amounts of this rapidly digested sugar causes your blood sugar to spike which can lead to both inflammation and insulin resistance. Soda is often the root cause of gastro-esophageal reflux disease.Canned tomatoes Actually most canned foods are a concern because ofthe lining inside the cans. The lining of almost all canned foods are made with a chemical called bisphenol-A, or BPA.A study published in May of 2013 by the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences showed that BPA actually affects the way genes work inside the brain of rats. Even the Food and Drug Administration agrees that there is a problem with BPA as it is supporting efforts to either replace or at the very least, to minimize the amounts found in canned foods. Canned tomatoes are particularly susceptible because of the high acidity, which can accelerate leeching of the BPA into the tomatoes.

Processed meatsProcessed meats contain numerous chemicals and preservatives, including sodium nitrates, which make them, look appealing and fresh but are well known carcinogens. Smoking meats seem to be particularly bad as the meat picks up tar from the smoking process. The list of process meat includes, but is not limited to, sausages, hot dogs, bacon, most lunch meats like bologna. Farmed SalmonFarmed salmon are fed unnatural diets contaminated with chemicals, antibiotics, pesticides, and other known carcinogens. They live in very crowded conditions which results in these fish having 30 times the number of sea lice than wild salmon. Farmed salmon are fed chemicals to make their meat that reddish pink color that should occur naturally because of the artificial diet. Studies have also shown that farmed salmon contain high levels of PCB’s, mercury, and cancer causing dioxins. Avoid farmed salmon and buy it canned or look for labels in your market that state the fish you are buying is wild sockeye salmon.The Natural On website has a list of sixteen cancer causing foods with descriptions similar to ones described here.You can read the entire list here that includes:

Potato chips

Hydrogenated oils

Salted, pickled or smoked foods

Highly processed white flour

GMOs

Refined Sugar

Artificial sweeteners

“Diet” anything

Alcohol

Red meat

What is left?If you haven’t figured out what is safe to eat by now, it’s non-processed foods, whole grains, fruits and vegetables—fresh or frozen, wild fish, free range chicken, eggs from non-caged chickens, and foods that have not been refined or processed.The best way is to buy non-industrially raised or grown crops and meat.The movie “Food, Inc.” emphasized that Americans do not know where their food comes from, how animals are raised, what chemicals are used, and the impact on the soil of industry farming that uses herbicides, pesticides, and farming practices that deplete the soil rather than enrich it. If people knew more about food sources, they would be inclined to not only change eating and buying habits, but also where they shop and how they cook food. The Slow Food Movement is a good example of how individuals can change food habits.Slow Food USA is part of the global Slow Food network of over 100,000 members in more than 150 countries. Through a vast volunteer network of local chapters, youth and food communities, they link the pleasures of the table with a commitment to protect the community, culture, knowledge and environment that make this pleasure possible.Slow Food Mission: Our mission as an international grassroots membership organization is good, clean and fair food for all.GoodOur food should be tasty, seasonal, local, fresh and wholesome.CleanOur food should nourish a healthful lifestyle and be produced in ways that preserve biodiversity, sustain the environment and ensure animal welfare – without harming human health.FairOur food should be affordable by all, while respecting the dignity of labor from field to fork.For AllGood, clean and fair food should be accessible to all and celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions and nations that reside in the USA.Meat is a valuable source of protein for many individuals, and the Slow Food Movement recognizes the challenges in ranching and farming meat products.Smaller-scale farmers are answering the call with innovative and creative ways to mitigate the negative environmental effects of industrial food production by returning to traditional methods of animal husbandry, and using methods of farming and grazing that mimic nature and contribute to the health of our land. These methods not only help to combat climate change, but also create better and more flavorful meat. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to be a food conscious consumer.Join Meatless Monday. Acknowledging that better meat may cost more, we need to provide tools to help eaters shift to consuming less meat — and doing so joyously rather than as a punishment. Meatless Monday, a global movement that simply asks people to cut out meat just one day a week, remains a powerful tool in cutting meat consumption on a national and global level. We plan on encouraging Slow Food chapters to embrace and support Meatless Monday as a way to resist “cheap” meat, and to eat the better meat in less quantity. Organizers of the movement offer alternative suggestions to meat, including incorporating meat as a flavor as opposed to the main event on a dinner plate.Meatless Monday exemplifies how even small changes can have a huge impact on the environment and personal health, as well as exploring alternative menu planning.Not eating meat once a week doesn’t cost anything, and in fact might even be cheaper with meals planned around plant sources of protein like beans, lentils, seeds, nuts, tofu, nutritional yeast, spirulina, quinoa, and whole grains. Incremental changes have a cumulative effect, and it doesn’t mean you will never drink a soda again or eat a hamburger.Nutritional sites say basically the same thing.You are more likely to be successful at changing your habits if you make changes one step at a time. "Try to gradually incorporate new habits over time, and before you know it, you will be eating more healthfully…” according to Keri Gans, MS, RD, American Dietetic Association spokesperson and a nutritionist.I could not write this essay without being truthful about my own journey, and it has not been easy.It has taken a few years to change, for the most part, to not only make healthy choices, but also to enjoy healthy food.I still like the comfort foods and desserts that so many of us associate with epicurean deliciousness.The difference now is I don’t indulge in the those foods every day and have a sense of accomplishment buying and eating from the somewhat shorter list of fresh, non-processed foods, rather than the long list of industrialized and processed foods. ResourcesNatural onSlow food USAGreen BizNutrition stripped

I agree we all eat crap at times and some people more than others. The horsemeat scandal in Europe showed suppliers cannot always be trusted. It is still possible to soource out better providers but at a price. Sadly austerity in the UK means people all too often shop cheaply first quality second.

Growing some produce helps and is possible even in a small home. Herbs in pots on the kitchen window sill indoors is a good start.

Learning how to cook healthily on a budget is also useful.

But in the end I do beleive some people have a cancer gene. My family member who is battling cancer has never smoked, hardly drinks, kept slim and healthy and always ate the right thing-but she still developed cancer like her sister some years earlier.

But we still all owe it to ourselves to be 'well' if possible as it improves our lives in so many ways.

Reply

Dava Castillo

9/5/2015 09:58:04 am

Thank you for the thoughtful reply Eileen.

I agree some have a genetic predisposition for cancer, like the gene for breast cancer. And most of us don't know what genes we have predispositions for. For me, I assume I have the genes for everything! LOL We can't change that or the environmental causes that in combination with genetic issues can put us at risk. The only control I have is what I eat and how much I exercise, and I believe these are important defenses against the genetic unknowns we all live with.

I agree that shopping can present issues for those on a budget. But I think I spend less now because I don't buy meat that often, which is expensive. I do, however, buy tons of fresh vegetables and they are expensive.

Yes, we owe it to ourselves and our family members to be the best we can be in all aspects of our lives including staying healthy for them.

Reply

Eileen

9/5/2015 04:07:02 pm

I think so Dava and I also think in some ways people are better informed these days-then I see or hear some younger person and think maybe not. But the Internet offers so many resources.
Limiting meat eating has benefits to us all

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Dava Castillo

is retired and lives in Clearlake, California. She has three grown
children and one grandson and a Bachelor’s degree in Health Services
Administration from St. Mary’s College in Moraga California. On the
home front Dava enjoys time with her family, reading, gardening, cooking
and sewing. After writing for four
years on the news site Allvoices.com on a variety of topics including
politics, immigration, sustainable living, and other various topics,
Dava has more than earned the title of citizen journalist. Politics is one of her passions, and she follows current events regularly.
In addition, Dava has written about sustainable living and
conservation. She completed certification at the University of
California Davis to become a Master Gardener and has volunteered in
that capacity since retirement.

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